Twelve Days of Christmas
by Mother Midnight
Summary: Leena’s got a secret admirer who keeps leaving her presents...Just a sweet holiday fic filled with fluff!
1. Baking Cookies

_DISCLAIMER:_ _CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, I ACTUALLY DON'T OWN ZOIDS. AND SEEING AS THAT FACT DOESN'T CHANGE WITH EACH CHAPTER, I'M ONLY GOING TO SAY IT ONCE. SO DON'T SUE! ENJOY!_

** -?- _Baking Cookies_ -?- **

Leena woke up feeling excited. 'Only twelve more days until Christmas!' she thought cheerfully as she crossed another day off of her calendar. She jumped out of bed and pulled on a robe to protect herself from the chill in the air. When she opened the door, she was greeted with a surprise; a small, carefully wrapped gift was placed in her doorway. She bent down and picked it up.

"To Leena, For the first day of Christmas." she read. Leena looked down the corridor, but there was no sign of anyone. She retreated back into her room and gently shut the door. "Well, it didn't say not to open it now…" she reasoned with herself. She tore the paper off the gift and opened the lid of the box. Inside was a hand carved zoid. Leena lifted it up and admired its beauty. 'Whoever sent this must have spent a long time making this.'

She walked across the room and placed the little zoid on her dresser. 'I wonder who it's from. Maybe there's a note inside.' She retrieved the box and looked inside. There was a slip of paper at the bottom. "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a carving made just for me. Hmm…that's just like that song." She turned over the paper, but nothing else was written. 'Oh well, maybe one of the guys knows who sent it to me.'

Leena sighed and set the box aside. Her stomach gave a huge growl. 'I guess I better get some breakfast.' She exited the room and made her way to the kitchen.

Leena entered the kitchen and rummaged for a bowl and a spoon. She sat down at the table and grabbed the cereal away from Bit.

"Morning." he said with a mouth full of food.

"Morning. Could you pass me the milk?" He silently handed her the milk. "You know what? This morning I woke up and there was a present outside my room." Bit immediately stopped eating.

"A present?" he asked innocently.

"Yup, that's what I said."

"Did you open it?"

"Yeah. It was a carving of a Liger. It's really beautiful." she said while filling her bowl.

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm…but the thing is, I don't even know who sent it to me. Did anyone stop by and ask for it to be placed outside my room?" Bit thought for a moment.

"Uh…I…I don't know. Why don't you ask Jamie? He was up before me."

"Did someone say my name?" Jamie asked while poking his head into the kitchen.

"Yeah. Do you happen to know who sent me a gift this morning?" Jamie glanced over to Bit, who was frantically shaking his head no and waving his hands above his head.

"Yeah. I know who sent it." he said while looking back at Leena. Bit nearly passed out.

"Really? Who?"

"I promised not to tell." Bit let out a sigh of relief while mentally beating Jamie over the head with a frying pan.

"Aw, c'mon! I want to know!" Leena pleaded.

"Sorry, a promise is a promise. Besides, I think you'll eventually find out who it is. Don't you think so, Bit?" Leena turned to look at her frazzled teammate.

"Uh…yeah, I do." he answered while shooting a death glare at Jamie. Leena looked questioningly at the two.

"You guys are behaving really strange today." She stopped to spoon some cereal in her mouth. "Did Bit spill juice all over the computer again?"

"No." Bit answered.

"That was you! I thought you said—"

"It was an accident! Besides, it was Leena's fault."

"It was not!" Leena disagreed angrily.

"Yes it was. You were the one who tackled me while I was next to the computer." Bit argued.

"Well, you shouldn't have been drinking near the computer, anyway!" she countered.

"It's not my fault that…hey. Where'd Jamie go?" he asked while looking around, bewildered.

"I dunno. Maybe he had stuff to do."

"Yeah, that must be it." he agreed, completely oblivious to the fact that Jamie had left because of the two's constant fighting.

"I wonder who my secret admirer is." Leena said, bringing back the uncomfortable topic of conversation. Suddenly Bit didn't feel like eating anymore.

"I dunno." he replied while standing up from his place at the table and dumping the remnants of his breakfast in the garbage. He dropped his dish in the sink and ran it under water.

"Maybe it's Harry…" Leena suggested with a scowl.

"Nah, it can't be. Harry is way too obvious about his advances and I honestly don't think that he is that thoughtful or intelligent to pull something like this."

"True…but still…who else could it be?" she questioned. Bit sat back down and picked up a worn copy of Zoids Weekly that had clearly been read on more than one occasion.

"Who knows."

"Jamie does." Leena mumbled angrily.

"He's not going to tell you, so don't bother trying to get it out of him. He's way too smart and loyal for you to get him to give in." he stated while throwing the old magazine down. "I think we need a new copy of this; I've read the same article about fifty times now!"

"Hmmm…" was all he got for a response. Leena finished up her breakfast and carried her bowl over to the sink. As she was rinsing her dish, she caught sight of the cookie jar and an idea popped into her head. "Hey, Bit, do you want to bake some Christmas cookies?"

"Sure. It's not like there's anything else to do." he said with a grin.

"Alright!" she cheered enthusiastically. "What recipe should we use?"

"There's always the traditional chocolate chip." Bit suggested.

"No, that's not…Christmasy enough. Ooo! I know! What were those cookies that you made that time when we ran out of everything else? You know, the ones with the nuts and chips and spices?"

"You mean my great grandma's Mistletoe cookies?"

"Yeah! Those are the ones! We could make those!"

"Well, I dunno…that is a secret recipe that has been in the Cloud family for years…"

"Please, Bit?" Leena begged while giving him the best puppy dog face she could conjure up. Bit sighed, he just couldn't resist that look.

"All right. I'll let you know the recipe, but you can't tell a soul!" he warned.

"Cross my heart!" she said happily while tracing an x over her chest with her index finger. "So, what do we need?" Bit began listing ingredients. Pretty soon the table was filled with various baking goods. "Okay, that's everything. Where do we start?"

"Flour and eggs." he answered while getting out a huge mixing bowl. Leena began to measure out flour.

"How did your great grandma come up with the name for these cookies, anyway?"

"Well, it has to do with a few things." Bit answered as he cracked an egg into the bowl. "My grandma didn't actually come up with the recipe her self, she said that she got it from the Wood Folk."

"Wood Folk?" Leena interrupted.

"Yes, Wood Folk."

"You mean like fairies and mystical creatures and all that other junk?"

"No. They were a primitive tribe that lived deep in the woods. Anyway, when she was young—only about twenty, she was hiking through the woods and got lost. The Wood Folk found her and let her stay with them for awhile. When she was there, they had a celebration for some goddess—I think it was Arena, the goddess of love. They made these cookies in order to honor Arena. They were supposed to bind your heart to another and bring good fortune your way. At the time, my grandma didn't believe all that stuff, but she did think the cookies were really good. So, she wrote the recipe down and tried making them when she returned home. It took her awhile to figure out how to bake them in an oven, but she eventually got it right. Now, the first time she made them, she shared it with a zoid warrior. This warrior turned out to be my great grandpa. Although my grandpa didn't believe it, my grandma always said that it was the cookies that brought them together. She called the cookies Mistletoe cookies because she first made the cookies around Christmas and like the cookies, the Mistletoe is supposed to bring people together." Leena stared in awe as Bit finished his tale.

"That's a great story. Do you believe that the cookies actually bind people's hearts?" she asked while adding chopped nuts to the mixture. Bit blushed a little.

"Nah, it's just a story my great grandma used to tell around Christmas time when I was a kid." he lied; in all actuality, he believed every word of the story.

"Oh." Leena said. Bit thought she almost sounded disappointed. 'No, it can't be. I must just be imagining things' he thought sadly. Leena added the last of the ingredients to the bowl. "Now what?"

"We kneed the dough until it's the right consistency. Then, if you want, we can roll it flat and cut it into shapes." Bit answered while taking the dough in his hands and slapping it down on a cutting board. He began to work the dough with his hands. "Aren't you going to help?" Leena made a face.

"That's going to get stuck under my nails." she complained. Bit gave a small laugh.

"I never thought of you as the type of person that would care about something like that." Leena scowled. "Aw c'mon! It's fun!"

"Okay." she sighed. She rolled up her sleeves and began to kneed the dough with her palms. "Hey, this is kinda fun." Within no time the dough was ready.

"Do you want to cut them into shapes?" Bit asked.

"Sure. How do Christmas trees and candy canes sound?"

"Fine with me." Leena got out a rolling pin and rolled the dough flat while Bit searched for the cookie cutters. For the next ten minutes, the two teens cut the dough into various shapes.

"There. Now all we have to do is grease up the cookie sheet and pop them in the oven." Bit said.

"Yup." Leena agreed. She frowned slightly and added, "And clean up this mess…" Bit looked at the kitchen and groaned at what he saw; everything was covered in flour and other ingredients that they had used. He looked up at Leena and smiled at her; she was covered in flour, too.

"The kitchen's not the only thing that needs cleaning." Bit said while picking up a strand of Leena's hair that had a glob of dough in it.

"You should talk." Leena countered while wiping dough off of Bit's nose. The two glared at each other for a moment longer before bursting out laughing. "I guess we need to wash up."

"Yeah. But we should probably get the cookies in the oven and finish cleaning before we change…"

"I guess so. I'll start clearing the table while you finish the cookies."

Half an hour later, Bit and Leena sat at the now very clean table, waiting for the cookies to finish baking. "Ugh…the dough is starting to cement to my face!" Leena whined while scraping a piece of dried dough off her cheek.

"Just think of it as a face mask." Bit said with a grin. "Unclogs pores and leaves skin felling clean and smooth!" Leena shook her head, but she couldn't help smiling at her teammate's antics.

"Mmmm, those cookies sure do smell good! Are they almost done?" As if on cue, the timer rang. Leena jumped up from her seat. "I take that as a yes!" She grabbed some oven mitts and pulled the sheet of freshly baked cookies out of the oven. Bit's mouth began to water.

"They look delicious!" he exclaimed while carefully using a spatula to place the cookies into a tin. "Want to split one while they're still warm?"

"Why don't we eat them all now?" she asked.

"Because we don't have any mulled cider."

"What?"

"These cookies taste better when accompanied by warm, spiced cider." Bit explained. "It's practically a sin to eat them without it!"

"If you say so…"

"So, do you want to split a cookie?" Leena smiled.

"Sure." Bit pulled a cookie in two and gave one half to Leena, while keeping the other half for himself.

"Well, here goes nothing." he said while biting into the warm dessert. Leena did the same. Her eyes instantly lit up.

"These are the best cookies I've ever had!" she raved.

"I have to agree with you there. I guess I did my great grandma justice after all."

"Do they really taste better with mulled cider?"

"Of course." Bit replied while shoving the last of his cookie into his mouth. Leena looked at him.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked with a grin. Bit smiled back.

"To the store!" they shouted in unison. Bit grabbed his keys off of the counter and raced to the hanger, followed closely by Leena. Neither of them cared that they were still covered in dough.

"I'm so sleepy!" Leena said through a yawn. She was sitting on the couch next to Bit. They had decided to eat the cookies after dinner, when everyone else had gone to bed. It was dark in the room, the only light was coming from the fire place. A tin, containing nothing but crumbs, and two empty mugs sat on the table in front of them.

"My grandma's cookies combined with a few mugs of hot cider tend to do that to people." Bit said, also yawning.

"Ugh…I'm too comfortable to go to bed." Leena stated while pulling a blanket around her. She leaned into Bit and sighed. "Just too comfortable and too sleepy."

"Mmmm…I don't think I could move if I tried." he commented. 'Not that I would want to, either…' he thought happily to himself. Before long, the two drifted off into a peaceful sleep, each dreaming about the other.

**-****_UNTIL NEXT TIME_-**

AUTHOR'S NOTE: In case anyone is wondering, the twelve days of Christmas refers to the period of time between December 25th and January 6th (Little Christmas). It is a holiday that is mainly celebrated in countries like Italy. It is supposedly when the wise men reached Jesus (I think…please correct me if I'm wrong). This fic isn't actually going to take place over that period of time—I'm going to have it take place on the twelve days leading up to Christmas. I just felt like throwing in that for a fun fact for those of you who didn't know what the twelve days of Christmas was referring to.

-Madam Midnight-


	2. The Great Tinsel War

** -?- _The Great Tinsel War_ -?- **

Leena stirred in her sleep. She was having a wonderful dream about a certain blonde-haired pilot; Bit had asked her out on a date and was being wonderfully romantic to her. And in between the champagne and sweet talk, he had proposed. Leena was about to answer when her dream came to an end. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up in bed.

Leena looked around her room, bewildered. 'I don't remember falling asleep in my bed. I remember being on the couch with Bit…' She blushed at the thought of falling asleep with her teammate. 'He probably carried me to my room. That's the only logical explanation as to how I got here.' she reasoned.

Leena climbed out of bed and stretched. 'Maybe that's why I dreamt about him. After all, I can't think of any other reason that I would be dreaming about him…except, of course, that I liked him.' She laughed at the thought. 'Me? Like Bit? That's absurd! Or is it?' She shook her head at the notion. 'I can't believe the things that I'm thinking! I must be going insane! Man, that's the last time I eat cookies before I go to sleep.'

Leena shook her head once more and decided that some food would help clear her mind. She opened her door and nearly stepped on a small, gift wrapped box that was just outside. 'Another present?' she thought while picking it up and retreating back to her room. She read the tag aloud. "To Leena, For the second day of Christmas. I guess it's from my secret admirer."

Leena sat on her bed and carefully unwrapped her new gift. Inside the box was a pair of charcoal colored gloves and a note. She lifted gloves out of the box so that she could try them on. 'They're beautiful.' she mused while examining them on her hands. 'Really warm, too.' Leena smiled and gently removed the gloves. She placed them back in the box and pulled out the note.

"On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me: two woolen gloves, and a carving made just for me." she read. Leena turned the paper over, but once again, nothing else was written. 'I guess I'll just have to wait until my admirer decides it's time to reveal himself. Oh well. I can wait.' Her stomach gave a low rumble. 'Breakfast it is then!' With that last thought, she set off toward the kitchen.

Bit grunted as he pulled another dusty box from storage. This proved to be a big mistake; a moment later he was sent into a sneezing frenzy from inhaling the dust. After about the fourth or fifth sneeze, he lost his grip on the box and it came crashing down on his foot. Bit yelped in pain and grabbed his foot and started spinning around in circles, all the while sneezing every second or so.

It was an extremely funny scene to an onlooker, and unfortunately, Leena was included in this category. She broke into hysteric fits of giggles at the sight. But of course, as luck would have it, she happened to be carrying a box, too. A moment later, her box lay on the floor, its contents strewn about the room.

"Oops." she said in between her heavy laughter. By this time Bit had stopped spinning around in circles, clutching his injured foot.

"It's not that funny!" he cried. "That box weighed at least twenty pounds!"

"I'm sorry, Bit! It's just that you looked so ridiculous!" Leena yelled back. Bit gave a small 'humph' as a reply. "Hey, could you help me pick up all these decorations?"

"Oh, sure!" he answered sarcastically, "Right after you laugh at my pain!"

"I said sorry! C'mon, Bit! Where's your holiday spirit!"

"It got crushed with my foot." he mumbled crossly.

"Oh boo-hoo, Mr. Scrooge. It's your fault that I dropped the box in the first place, so you're gonna help me pick this stuff up whether you like it or not!" Bit sighed in defeat.

"You're not going to leave me alone until I obey your every command, are you?"

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner, folks!"

"I would appreciate the loss of sarcasm, Leena." Bit said while heading over to the spilled decorations.

"Too bad. As you stated before, you have to obey my every command, which includes dealing with my wit."

"I'm not even going to grace you with an answer, oh mighty slave-driver." Leena glared and stuck out her tongue. Bit shook his head and began to clean up the mess.

"There sure is a lot of tinsel in here." he commented while holding up ten packages of the shiny, metallic strands.

"I like shiny things." Leena declared somewhat stupidly. Bit eyed the packages and suddenly got an idea. He popped open a package and withdrew a handful of tinsel. "What are you doing?"

She didn't need to wait for an answer; the moment the question had left her mouth, Bit began to toss strands of tinsel over her body.

"Hey!" she exclaimed while trying to escape from the clingy decoration.

"I thought you liked shiny things." Bit said in an innocent tone. Leena put on her war face and picked up a package of her own.

"Oh, it is on now." she stated while violently tossing tinsel at her attacker.

Doc could hear sounds of laughter coming from the hanger. Unfortunately, these sounds were accompanied by screams and an occasional dull thud. He cautiously poked his head inside to investigate and nearly fell over at the sight.

The room was covered in tinsel, glitter, and just about any other decoration that had been previously packed away in boxes. His eyes drifted to the center of the room and found the culprits; Bit and Leena were both couched behind some boxes while trying to hit the other with green and red confetti without getting hit themselves.

"This is what I get for leaving them alone." Doc said quietly to himself. He watched, unnoticed, for a few moments longer and then left the room with a smile. "That's my future son-in-law." he mused.

Many minutes and countless strands of tinsel later, Bit and Leena could be found sprawled out on the floor in the middle of a huge mess.

"Well, that was fun." Bit stated while pulling tinsel out of his hair and examining it in the light. Leena couldn't help but notice how cute he looked at the moment. A stupid grin spread across her face. "What?" Leena blushed and shook her head.

"I was just thinking that you don't look half bad when you're covered in glitter and tinsel." Bit's cheeks became a light rose color at the comment.

"Oh. Thanks…I think."

"You remind me of an angel ornament that I made for my mom when I was little." She frowned slightly. "That was before she decided that she'd rather go off to some crazy job and leave her family behind."

Bit nodded sullenly; he knew that Leena's mother had left her when she was a little girl in order to pursue a career as a bounty hunter. It was a dangerous job, and Bit could see why her mother had left. She needed to ensure Leena's safety. But she could have at least kept in contact with her only daughter; it had been years since Leena had heard from her mother, and no one was even sure if she was still alive.

"So, you think I look like an angel?" Bit asked, tactfully steering away from the touchy subject.

"Yeah. The one I made when I was five. Did I mention it was poorly made?" she countered.

"Still an angel, nonetheless." Leena could find no comeback for this, so she just remained silent. She glanced over at Bit and watched him helplessly try to brush some of the glitter off. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand.

"You know, it's pointless to try and clean glitter off. It will just keep sticking too you." Bit settled back down next to her.

"I guess you're right."

"Aren't I always?"

"No."

"Don't be stupid. Oh wait, I'm sorry, that's impossible."

"You're impossible."

"Whatever."

"This glitter itches."

"Stop complaining, Bit."

"I will if you will."

"Fine."

"Fine." Bit tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Leena's heart gave a little pang as she watched him rest. It was then that she noticed that they were still holding hands. A bright blush settled across her face and she went to withdraw her hand. But something stopped her—a little voice in the back of her head telling her, 'Why not leave your hand in his? He hasn't noticed yet.' Leena grinned happily.

"Yeah, why not."

"Did you say something?" Bit asked, though his eyes were still shut.

"Nothing important." she replied while focusing on the warmth of his hand. "I'm just tired."

"Oh. That's nice." Bit said, half asleep.

"Maybe I'll just rest my eyes for awhile."

"You do that."

"I think I will. Hey, Bit?" Leena waited for an answer, but none came. She turned her head towards him and examined his sleeping form. The steady rise and fall of his chest was soothing. "You really are like an angel." she whispered right before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Bit woke an hour later feeling sore. 'Probably from sleeping on the floor' he thought. He tried to wipe the hair out of his eyes, but something was holding his arm back. Bit turned to his left and was shocked to see Leena sleeping peacefully and…holding his hand? The very idea of being so close to Leena made the heat rise to his face. 'Okay,' he coaxed himself, 'I just have to play it cool. This is no big deal; Leena has held my hand plenty of times. All I have to do is slip my hand out of hers and I can avoid a very awkward situation. Yeah. That's just what I'll do.'

Bit stared at Leena's face, hypnotized by her beauty. The more he stared at her, the more wanted to keep holding her hand. 'Well, maybe for just a little longer. She won't be waking up anytime soon.' Bit reasoned with himself. He lifted his free hand and gently stroked her porcelain cheek. Leena turned over in her sleep and buried her face in his chest. Bit blushed and tried to draw back, but she kept a tight grip on him.

"Can't we sleep for a little longer, Bit? No one's up at this hour anyway." she mumbled.

"What are you talking about? It's noon!" Bit said while glancing at the clock that hung just above the doorway. Leena only replied with a soft snore. 'I guess she's still asleep. Figures that she'd only want to be with me in her sleep. Wait… she's dreaming about me, which means…' Bit returned Leena's embrace and rested his forehead against hers. He could feel her warm breath on his neck, sending a shiver up his spine. "Leena." he whispered in her ear. No answer. "Leena." he said again. Still no reply. "Leena." he tried once more, this time a little louder.

"What?" Leena asked in a sleepy tone.

"It's time to wake up. Open your eyes." Leena did as she was told and was met with the face of her very cute teammate. She smiled sleepily and blinked a few times so that she cold focus her eyesight. When everything came in clear, her brain finally registered the awkward situation at hand. She blushed furiously and gazed at the floor. Bit decided to have a little fun.

"Why are you blushing?" he asked sincerely. Leena's eyes darted back up to his face.

"Uh…it's just that…I-we…uh…" she stammered nervously while putting some distance between herself and her questioner. The first thing Leena noticed was how much colder she felt.

"It's just that what?" Bit asked again. Leena stood up quite suddenly and glanced at the door.

"I just remembered that I had something to do!" she declared loudly. "I'll help you clean up this mess later! Uh…bye!" she called while making her escape. Bit smiled and rested his head on his arms. 'She likes me.' he thought happily.

Leena ran down the corridors of the base. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought that it would surely jump right out of her chest. When she felt that she was far enough away from Bit, she stopped and leaned against the wall. 'What just happened?' Leena thought while sliding to the floor. 'Bit—he was so close. I could feel him breathing on my neck. He felt so warm…and in my dream he…'

Leena blushed and buried her face in her hands. The thought of the things that Bit had done in her dream made her hair stand on end. She had never felt that way before nor had anyone ever touched her like the way he had. Suddenly Leena felt warm all over. It wasn't the kind of heat that she had ever experienced before. This feeling was good but torturous at the same time. 'Maybe I'm getting sick. Maybe something's wrong with me.' Leena shook her head and stood up. 'Could this be what love feels like?'

-**_UNTIL NEXT TIME_-**

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I decided to explain the absence of Leena's mother by making her a Bounty Hunter. It's good to try something different once in a while, no?

-Madam Midnight-


	3. Christmas Rush

** -?- _Christmas Rush _ -?- **

"I can't believe Bit and Leena made such a mess! I mean, look at this!" Jamie held up a hand full of tinsel and pointed at the glitter that clung to the floor.

"So? Why do you care?"

"Because it will take me hours to clean all of this up!" Jamie yelled. Brad opened his mouth to say something, but Jamie cut him off. "You know they're just going to leave the room like this! That's why I have to do it."

"If you say so." Brad jumped down from the crate he had been sitting on. "Have fun."

"Wait! Aren't you going to help me!" Jamie called out. Brad waved his and dismissively and left the room. 'This is so unfair…'

"I feel a little bad about leaving such a big mess in the hangar."

"So? We can clean it when we get back."

"Leena, we both know that Jamie will have already cleaned by that time." Leena smiled mischievously.

"I know, that's why I decided to go Christmas shopping now."

"You're evil, you know that?"

"Yup. I've been told many times. So, where do we go first?" She stopped and looked around at some of the shops the small town had to offer.

"Well, I would say the mall, but I don't think there is one in this area. I guess that shop down there would be a good place to start." Bit pointed to a small building at the very end of the street. "We can work our way up and visit all the shops."

"Sounds good to me. C'mon!"

The sidewalk was crowded with holiday shoppers. Everywhere Bit and Leena turned, there seemed to be someone doing some last minute shopping. A few times they got separated and had to walk out onto the street to find the other; calling out a name didn't help because anyone that wasn't standing within a few feet of the person talking wouldn't be able to hear over the sounds of crying children and the chatter of men and women. After about the fourth time of getting separated, Bit began to get frustrated. He stepped off the sidewalk and waited until Leena did the same. A minute later he saw her push her way trough a crowd of women to get to the street.

"There you are!" She trotted up to Bit and pulled her coat tight around her. "Wow, it's a lot colder when there isn't anyone to block the wind." Bit nodded in agreement. "I guess that's why everyone is on the sidewalk." She sighed at looked back at the crowded pathway. "Shall we?"

"Well, it's better than freezing our butts off. But…" Bit paused and looked down at the ground. "Maybe we should hold hands so we don't get separated again." He glanced back up at Leena.

"Alright." Bit took her hand and they stepped back onto the sidewalk. They didn't speak or look at the other until they reached their destination. Bit dropped Leena's hand rather quickly.

"We're here. Let's go inside." He held the door open for her and she whispered a thanks as she passed. He noticed that she looked flushed, but he couldn't tell if it was because she was blushing or if her skin had just gone pink from the cold.

"Wow." Bit heard Leena say in awe. He entered the sore and closed the door behind him.

"What?"

"Look at all this cool stuff!" She ran over to one of the displays and picked up a communicator helmet. "These haven't been used for ages."

"I think this is an antique zoid store." Bit said. "Look." He pointed to some kind of body suit. Leena put the helmet down and walked over to it.

"What is it?"

"It's a thermo-suit. They were used back when zoids didn't have temperature regulated cockpits." He fingered the material for a moment. "It's in pretty good condition, too."

"I think my dad used to own one. He looked ridiculous in it."

"I can imagine." Bit said with a smile. "Well, I guess we should look around."

"Nah, I don't think I'd find anything in this store. Besides, I hardly know what anything is!"

"I could tell you."

"_You_?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Do you even know anything about old zoids?"

"I knew about the suit."

"That was one thing." Leena said with a sigh.

"You're forgetting that I used to sell zoid parts for a living."

"I—oh yeah. I forgot about that. Okay, so teach me."

"Um…alright. What do you want to know?" Leena looked around the store. She spotted something in the back that caught her eye.

"What…is…this?" she asked while heaving up a small, black box. "It's heavier than it looks."

"That is an attachment that pilots used to put on their zoids to enhance targeting capability. Companies stopped manufacturing them when zoids started being built with target lock. I think there are some old zoid fans that meet once a year and put on tournaments. They probably still use the target box."

"Oh." Leena said, dumbfounded; she was impressed with Bit's knowledge of zoids. "Fine. But I bet you can't tell me what this is!"

They continued to explore the shop in much the same fashion; Leena would pick out the oddest thing she could find and see if Bit could recognize it. About ten minutes later she began to tire of the game.

"C'mon, Bit, let's go check out another store. I really don't know anyone who would need a thermo-suit anyway."

"In a minute." he said while looking toward a corner of the shop. "Let me just see what's over there."

"It looks kinda dusty over there. I'll just wait over here. Be fast, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Bit said half-heartedly. Leena rolled her eyes and watched him rummage through a bin of miscellaneous things. She couldn't help but smile; despite being in a store filled with ancient zoid parts, she was actually having a decent time with Bit—a good time even! However, a few minutes later her good mood began to wear off. 'Where is he?'

"Bit?" she called out. No answer. "Bit?" she tried again. Still no answer. 'That's strange…I saw him disappear behind that bookcase just a minute ago…'

"You rang?" Bit asked while popping out from behind the very bookcase Leena was just about to investigate. Leena jumped.

"Don't do that!" she exclaimed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Aw, I'm sorry. I'll try harder next time."

"Bit! I swear, one more word and I'll...urg! You can be really annoying sometimes!" 'And really cute, too. Wait…did I just think that?' A light blush appeared on Leena's cheeks. She shook her head. "Where did you go to, anyway?"

"Oh, I was just looking at some mechanics' watches."

"What?"

"Here, I'll show you." He grabbed her forearm and pulled her over to a glass display case. There were a bunch of what looked like old fashioned pocket watches. They came in various shapes and sizes. They were in different conditions, too; some looked brand new, while others were old and dented and some were even patched up with a cheaper metal. Bit smiled down at the lit up case.

"Mechanics used to use these watches to time zoids on test runs or just to time how fast a certain part of the zoid was going. They may look simple, but they're actually pretty advanced. Each watch stops at a one hundredth of a second and includes a scanner that displays how fast a zoid is going. My grandfather used to have one just like that." He pointed to the most beautiful out of the bunch. It was medium in size and made of silver. There was an engraving of a Liger standing on its hind legs. Its mouth was wide open in mid roar. Besides a few minor scratches, the watch was in perfect condition. Bit sighed and took his hand off the case. He seemed almost sad.

"Well, let's get going."

"Okay." She followed him out of the tiny shop. She glanced back once and smiled; she finally knew what to get Bit for Christmas.

"My feet hurt. Can we go yet?"

"Quit complaining. We only have one more shop to visit."

"But the last one was so boring." Bit whined. They had just exited a scented candle shop. Leena hadn't thought much of it either, but she wouldn't admit that to Bit.

"C'mon. I'll buy you a cookie." Leena proposed in a sing-song voice.

"What _kind_ of cookie?" Leena rolled her eyes.

"Whatever kind you want. Now come on!" She tightened her grip on Bit's hand and dragged him into the last shop. It was a jewelry store. They were met with an annoyingly familiar cry.

"Leena, my love!" Leena froze in the entranceway.

"Quick, Bit, let's get out of here." she whispered eagerly. They couldn't even get turned around before Harry was at Leena's feet and kissing her hand. "Harry, stop. This is embarrassing." she said through gritted teeth.

"But, Leena, I'm only expressing my love for you. Let the public know!"

"Harry, I mean it." Leena said murderously. He continued to talk nonsense and began kissing her up her arm. Bit was snickering beside her. "That's it!" Leena grabbed Harry by his collar and tossed him into the wall. Bit laughed harder. "And you…" She turned to him and hit him hard in the arm with her purse. He yelped.

"What was that for!"

"For laughing at my misfortune, that's what!"

"But I didn't—"

"Never mind. Let's get out of here. I think Harry's starting to regain consciousness."

"Right. Let's go." They ran out of the shop as fast as they could. They could just make out Harry's saddened cry of "But I bought you a ring!" as they turned the corner onto a different street. Bit gave Leena an 'I told you so' look. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Okay, so maybe the jewelry shop wasn't such a good idea after all. But how was I supposed to know that…" She paused and scrunched up her nose. Her voice took on a more disgusted tone. "_Harry_ would be in there? I mean, what are the odds?"

"Dunno, don't really care. Right now all I'm interested in is putting down these bags and getting something to eat."

"All you ever think about is food!"

"It's almost dinner time! We skipped right over lunch! You can't really blame me for being hungry…"

"I can, and I will." Leena said with her nose turned up. Unfortunately for her, her stomach chose that moment to emit a huge growl. She smiled and rubbed the back of her head, a trait of Bit's when someone or something proved him to be wrong. "Well, I guess we could eat." This time it was Bit's turn to roll his eyes.

They walked into the center of the town and had dinner in a small restaurant. It was dark by the time they finished eating.

"I'm s-so tired!" Leena yawned.

"Me, too. But at least we got most of our shopping done." Leena's eyes snapped open.

"My bag!" she exclaimed. "I think left it in that stationary shop!"

"Aw, Leena! That shop is all the way near that Zoid shop we first went to!" Leena pouted.

"But my bag…" she whined. Bit sighed.

"Fine, let's go back."

"No!" she said a little too loudly; she quickly lowered her voice back down to a normal volume. "How about you go get the car and I'll go back and get my bag? That way it won't look so long."

"It's kinda dark, Leena…"

"So!"

"Well, you know, there could be muggers out there or—"

"Bit! That's so lame! I can take care of myself just fine! You saw what I did to Harry."

"All right, I guess." he said, though he still looked uncomfortable about her walking around by herself. Leena gave him a big smile.

"Thanks! Just bring the car around to the corner of the street, okay?"

"No problem." He took Leena's bags from her, despite her protesting, and walked off in the opposite direction. As soon as Leena was sure that he was out of site, she began to run back to the zoid shop. 'I've got to hurry if I'm going to pull this off.'

Bit pulled the car up to the sidewalk and let Leena in.

"Did you get your bag?" She held up a small, blue shopping bag. Bit looked at it curiously. "I don't remember you having that. What's in it?" He reached for it, but Leena quickly snatched it out of the way.

"Sorry, for my eyes only." she said innocently.

"C'mon! Why not?" Bit grabbed for it again, but Leena was too fast. She shook her finger at him and made a 'tsk' noise.

"Now, now, I said you couldn't see it."

"Fine." Bit huffed. "I'll just sneak a peak when you least expect it."

"You wouldn't." she said with a glare. He raised his eyebrow and smirked at her. Leena let her jaw drop. "You would!" Thinking fast, Leena held the bag out to him. "If you really must know, it's feminine things. You can check if you want." Bit, who had just taken his prize, dropped it as though it burned him.

"No, that's all right. I believe you." Leena took the bag back and smirked. 'Works every time.'

Leena must have fallen asleep on the way home, because before she knew it, she was being shaken awake by Bit. She mumbled groggily and turned over in her seat.

"Come…on…Leena!" He shook her a little harder.

"Okay! I'm up!" She shot up out of her seat suddenly, her skull meeting with Bit's. It gave off a sickening thud. "Ungh…watch where you put your head, Bit."

"You watch where you put yours." he replied while rubbing his forehead gingerly.

"I'm not the one with a head as hard as a rock."

"Whatever. Let's just go inside; it's getting cold out."

"Yeah, fine."

"Leave your stuff in the car. We can get it tomorrow."

"Mmmhmmm…" Leena replied sleepily. Bit sighed and lifted her out of the car and stood her upright.

"Let's go, sleepy." She followed Bit with half-closed eyes as he led her to her room. "Goodnight, Leena." he whispered as she climbed into bed. She was asleep before she could even respond.

Leena woke up late the next morning and found anther present waiting for her outside her bedroom door. She opened it up and found three Snow Pens inside. At first Leena didn't know what they were, so she had to read the instructions that came in the box. Apparently Snow Pens weren't the kind of pens that wrote on paper, or contained ink for that matter; they were special heat pens that contained dye in the tip. All she had to do was click the end, and she could write colored messages in the snow. Leena couldn't wait to try them out.

Unfortunately, the box didn't give her any clue as to who her secret admirer was. All that was inside was a slip of paper that read: "On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me: three snow pens, two woolen gloves, and a carving made just for me." She couldn't help but laugh at the poor rhyming skills her admirer had; it was still very thoughtful though, and she loved the gifts very much. Leena placed her new gift inside her desk drawer and pulled on her slippers before heading out into the hallway. She found everyone in the recreation room putting up decorations.

"Leena, so nice of you to join the living." Brad said with a smirk.

"Good morning." she said back cheerfully with her own smile. Brad looked puzzled.

"What? No 'shove it, Brad'? No knock across the head? What has gotten you in such a good mood?"

"Nothing." Leena replied; no need in telling Brad about her mystery person. He'd probably just make fun of her. "I just had a good night's sleep, that's all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have some breakfast." And with that she skipped into the kitchen. Brad and Doc raised their eyebrows at her.

"Was she just…_skipping_?" Doc asked.

"I think so." Brad replied while searching for his coffee. He found it on the counter. "What's up with her, anyway?" he said once he had taken a sip of his drink. Jamie shrugged.

"Who knows? She's Leena; she's entitled to her mood swings once in awhile. Although…" he paused and looked deliberately at Bit, "It could have something to do with that secret admirer who's been sending her presents for the past few days."

"_Secret admirer_?" Doc and Brad echoed. Bit just stood there with his mouth partially opened.

"Yup. I think he really likes her, too. Well, I'm going to start making breakfast before Leena eats anything. She'll be mad if she misses out on my pancakes." He headed toward the kitchen and only paused to whisper something to Bit. "That's for the hangar."

"Jamie!" Bit yelled. Brad and Doc looked over at the two. Bit laughed nervously and pointed at Jamie. "Eh…he…tangled the strand of lights I was almost done freeing from the box?" Brad shook his head and returned to his coffee. Doc's gaze lingered for a little longer, but soon he was busy putting up decorations again. 'I'll kill him when I get the chance.' Bit thought while angrily twisting the lights in his hands. 'At least Leena seems happy with the pens. I'm glad I found those; I don't think I could rhyme hen with anything else.'

"I wonder who Leena's secret admirer could be?" Doc asked. Bit stayed quiet. "She doesn't know very many boys. Unless there's someone she hasn't told me about." He frowned.

"It's probably that dope, Harry." Brad interjected. "He's always trying to get her attention with some flashy gift." Bit rolled his eyes.

"Harry isn't smart enough to think of doing something like this for Leena."

"You never know, Bit. It could be him."

"I don't think so."

"I think someone's jealous." Brad said in a sly tone. Bit scoffed.

"Oh, please! Me, jealous of Harry? What world do you live in?"

"Whatever you say, Bit."

"Fine, don't believe me. You'll see later that you're wrong."

"You seem to be very sure of yourself." Doc said. "Do you know who the secret admirer is?" Bit blushed.

"N-no! Of course I don't!" He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Hey, do you smell that? The pancakes are almost done! I'm gonna go help Jamie set the table." He was out of the room even before he finished his sentence. Brad and Doc looked at each other.

"It's definitely him." they said at the same time.

**-****_UNTIL NEXT TIME_-**

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank the Gods that Bit has no talent for rhyme. I can't really think of anything else that rhymes with pens and can be made into an inexpensive gift. But feel free to laugh at the silly things I come up with. I know I find it amusing.

-Madam Midnight-


End file.
